Google’s Willow Chip Signals the Urgency of Post-Quantum Cryptography Migration

Forget the 10 septillion years needed for a classical computer to solve this problem, and focus instead on the falling number of necessary error correction qubits.

Google announced its latest quantum computing advance, the Willow chip, on December 9, 2024. The announcement focuses on two aspects: current power and future potential.

The power is demonstrated by large numbers: Willow can solve a problem in less than five minutes that would take a classical supercomputer 10 septillion years to solve. Now, even though the supercomputer and the length of time it would take are not factual but obviously simulations, and even though the problem may have been developed specifically to be solved by Willow, this is mighty impressive.

Karl Holmqvist, founder and CEO of Lastwall, explains the process. “What Google achieved with Willow involves something called random circuit sampling (RCS), which generates random quantum ...